This Land

Submitted by nonesuch on Thu, 05/29/2008 - 19:14
genre
Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Frisell works with a sextet, including clarinetist Don Byron, on these 14 original tunes. Says Rolling Stone, "Strange meetings of the mysterious and the earthy, the melancholy and the giddy, make perfect sense by Frisell's deliciously warped way of thinking.”

Description

Called “one of the most promising composers of American music in the current scene” by Stereophile magazine, Bill Frisell reasserted the claim in 1994 with This Land. In the context of a talented sextet, Frisell amply demonstrates the full effect of his role as composer with 14 original tunes. The result is a powerfully rich blend of colorful harmonic textures and delicate group interaction.

This Land, his fifth recording on Nonesuch, finds Frisell alongside bandsmen Kermit Driscoll (bass), Joey Baron (drums), Curtis Fowlkes (trombone), and longtime collaborators Don Byron (clarinet) and Billy Drewes (saxophone). This carefully selected unit provides Frisell latitude as a composer and player, evident in the intricate harmonic foundation and inventive guitar work that pervades the recording’s ballads, rags and uptempo grooves.

With an established reputation as a virtuosic and versatile guitarist, Bill Frisell is consistently in the top spot in DownBeat’s critics poll. He continues to be one of the most sought-after musicians in contemporary music, having collaborated with Paul Motian, John Zorn and Naked City, Don Byron, Lyle Mays, Marianne Faithful, Hal Wilner, and Wayne Horvitz, among many others. However, it is his bandleading and composing skills that have gained Frisell recognition by musicians, critics, and listeners.

SPIN magazine said the following of Bill Frisell: “Besides being a guitar genius—in case you want more—he’s turned into a terrific songwriter. Like Monk, Frisell’s harmonic and melodic ideas form a succinct, seamless mesh with outer sonic and rhythmic ideas about his ax.” It is precisely this careful balance of songwriting and superb musicianship that makes This Land a remarkable achievement by one of America’s most important and dynamic artists.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Lee Townsend
Engineered by Joe Ferla
Recorded October 1992 at Mastersound Astoria, New York
Assistant Engineers: David Merrill and Tony Viamontes
Mixed at The Site, Marin County, California
Assistant Engineer: Kevin Scott
Edited by Mark Slagle at Different Fur Recording, San Francisco, California
Mastered by Greg Calibi at Sterling Sound, New York City

All songs by Bill Frisell, except track 14 by Bill Frisell and Joey Baron

Design by John Heiden
Cover Photograph: Railroad Station, Edwards Mississippi, February 1936, by Walker Evans, Library of Congress, Farm Security Administration Collection

Nonesuch Selection Number

79316

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
ns_album_artistid
38
ns_album_id
90
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Artist Name
Bill Frisell
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Bill Frisell, guitar
Don Byron, clarinet and bass clarinet
Billy Drewes, alto saxophone
Curtis Fowlkes, trombone
Kermit Driscoll, electric and acoustic basses
Joey Baron, drums

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
Price
0.00
UPC
075597931624BUN
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
603497074167
  • 79316

Track Listing

News & Reviews

  • Ahead of the long-awaited world premiere of Omar, the opera composed by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels, at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, SC, next Friday, Giddens has released her own recording of the song “Julie’s Aria” from the opera. The recording was made by Giddens with guitarist Bill Frisell and her frequent collaborator Francesco Turrisi. Omar is based on the life and autobiography of enslaved Muslim scholar Omar Ibn Said, who was forcefully brought to Charleston from Africa in 1807. “My work as a whole is about excavating and shining a light on pieces of history that not only need to be seen and heard," Giddens says, "but that can also add to the conversation about what’s going on now. This is a story that hasn’t been represented in the operatic world—or in any world.” Omar will also be performed by LA Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Boston Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Carolina Performing Arts at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

  • Cornetist, composer, and educator Ron Miles died at his home in Denver, Colorado, on Tuesday, March 8, due to complications from polycythemia vera, a rare blood disorder, at the age 58. He can be heard on several Nonesuch recordings, performing with Joshua Redman on the 2018 Grammy-nominated album Still Dreaming and with Bill Frisell on History, Mystery (2008), Blues Dream (2001), and Quartet (1996).

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  • About This Album

    Called “one of the most promising composers of American music in the current scene” by Stereophile magazine, Bill Frisell reasserted the claim in 1994 with This Land. In the context of a talented sextet, Frisell amply demonstrates the full effect of his role as composer with 14 original tunes. The result is a powerfully rich blend of colorful harmonic textures and delicate group interaction.

    This Land, his fifth recording on Nonesuch, finds Frisell alongside bandsmen Kermit Driscoll (bass), Joey Baron (drums), Curtis Fowlkes (trombone), and longtime collaborators Don Byron (clarinet) and Billy Drewes (saxophone). This carefully selected unit provides Frisell latitude as a composer and player, evident in the intricate harmonic foundation and inventive guitar work that pervades the recording’s ballads, rags and uptempo grooves.

    With an established reputation as a virtuosic and versatile guitarist, Bill Frisell is consistently in the top spot in DownBeat’s critics poll. He continues to be one of the most sought-after musicians in contemporary music, having collaborated with Paul Motian, John Zorn and Naked City, Don Byron, Lyle Mays, Marianne Faithful, Hal Wilner, and Wayne Horvitz, among many others. However, it is his bandleading and composing skills that have gained Frisell recognition by musicians, critics, and listeners.

    SPIN magazine said the following of Bill Frisell: “Besides being a guitar genius—in case you want more—he’s turned into a terrific songwriter. Like Monk, Frisell’s harmonic and melodic ideas form a succinct, seamless mesh with outer sonic and rhythmic ideas about his ax.” It is precisely this careful balance of songwriting and superb musicianship that makes This Land a remarkable achievement by one of America’s most important and dynamic artists.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Bill Frisell, guitar
    Don Byron, clarinet and bass clarinet
    Billy Drewes, alto saxophone
    Curtis Fowlkes, trombone
    Kermit Driscoll, electric and acoustic basses
    Joey Baron, drums

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Lee Townsend
    Engineered by Joe Ferla
    Recorded October 1992 at Mastersound Astoria, New York
    Assistant Engineers: David Merrill and Tony Viamontes
    Mixed at The Site, Marin County, California
    Assistant Engineer: Kevin Scott
    Edited by Mark Slagle at Different Fur Recording, San Francisco, California
    Mastered by Greg Calibi at Sterling Sound, New York City

    All songs by Bill Frisell, except track 14 by Bill Frisell and Joey Baron

    Design by John Heiden
    Cover Photograph: Railroad Station, Edwards Mississippi, February 1936, by Walker Evans, Library of Congress, Farm Security Administration Collection

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